Wherever the flamingo goes,
she brings a city’s worth
of furbelows. She seems
unnatural by nature—
too vivid and peculiar
a structure to be pretty,
and flexible to the point
of oddity. Perched on
those legs, anything she does
seems like an act. Descending
on her egg or draping her head
along her back, she’s
too exact and sinuous
to convince an audience
she’s serious. The natural elect,
they think, would be less pink,
less able to relax their necks,
less flamboyant in general.
They privately expect that it’s some
poorly jointed bland grey animal
with mitts for hands
whom God protects.
Flamingos are a species of brightly colored uncommon birds, that used to be worshipped for they were believed to contain the essence of the god, Ra. Their strange appearance or, some would say their beauty, has led to them being used as decorative lawn ornaments. This poem talks about the way the flamingo's beauty leads to it being distanced from reality. The line "anything she does seems like an act" explains how the flamingo's exquisiteness causes an onlooker to doubt the reality and belittle the beauty they see by not truly understanding it. It is assumed that anything that is different must be artificial, because it is so odd that it seems unnatural. The general onlookers see flamingos in a zoo, as opposed to the common, drab colored sparrow seen daily in their backyard. The bright pink color goes against what is normal, so it is not understood.
Jabberwocky
Carroll, Lewis. "Jabberwocky." From The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!I
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Lewis Carroll wrote the "Jabberwocky" poem as part of the Through the Looking Glass book, which is a sequel to Alice in Wonderland. It was also meant to be included in the film version of Alice in Wonderland. When Alice falls through the looking glass into Wonderland, everything is unfamiliar to her. There is the Cheshire cat, which can disappear and speak, the Mad Hatter, and the army of playing card people. The Cheshire Cat recites the first part of Carrol's poem to Alice during one of their meetings, thoroughly confusing her. The poem tells a story of a boy defeating the Jabberwocky, though it is hard to discern through Carroll's strange neologisms. There are multiple mentions of other peculiar animals throughout the poem, "Slithy toves" and "Borogoves" and "mome raths" are all made up fantasy creatures from Wonderland that Carroll uses to set the scene for the poem. These little creatures are also strange, but they are not seen as dangerous because they do not appear dangerous, unlike the Jabberwocky. This poem was actually written as a satirical way of interpreting literary verse, and it was designed to show how not to write verse but it ended up being used in classrooms because its peculiarities were so shocking they could not be ignored. One of the most peculiar eventualities was that the poem was so influential that it added two new words to the English language, "Galumphing," and "Chortled." Really dig into the poem. Twist and pull the poem apart and notice the oddities of the poem.
The "Flamingo Watching" Poem contrasts sharply with the "Jabberwocky" poem because flamingos are elegant, beautiful creatures that while strange are not dangerous. The Jabberwocky is a strange, unnatural creature that resembles a dragon and everyone wants to slay it. Lewis Carroll used peculiar language and made up words in his poem more often than real words, to make it stick in the reader's mind and have a greater impact, while Kay Ryan uses words that flow together in a very pretty way to fit the subject being discussed. An interesting similarity between the two animals is that they were present in the Alice in Wonderland story, which was full of everything strange and unusual after she fell through the looking glass. The flamingo was used to play croquet which was a very unusual use for such an elegant creature, once more demonstrating how no one understands or appreciates the beauty of the animal that is "too vivid and peculiar a structure to be pretty." While the Jabberwocky was not a benevolent character it was detested because of it's strange appearance and its "jaws that bite, the claws that catch!" In both poems, the subjects are disliked for their oddities, which shows how peculiarities can be unwelcome in society, even in worlds known for being strange like Wonderland. Connect words, phrases, and ideas in the two poems.
Movie: Peculiarity leading to contempt Vs. Peculiarity leading to love
Benchwarmers. Dir. Dennis Dugan. Perf. Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovits. Revolution Studios Happy Madison, 2006. DVD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5kCWli6x8I
The movie Benchwarmers has one very peculiar character, Howie. He has many irrational fears such as Doorphobia, and he fears going into the sun. It makes him unable to do normal things at the beginning when he refuses to leave the house, and because of this he is made fun of. He has little to no friends, except for his brother. The only time he is ever spoken to is when he is needed to do something for his brother or when the main characters are laughing at his peculiarities. However, during one scene Howie is called in to participate in a baseball game and it is all up to him to win it. When the ball comes at him he cringes away, getting hit by it in the process because his reaction was so unexpected. His peculiar response wins them the game and everybody celebrates, finally accepting him, but only because he helped them. They soon go back to treating him with the contempt they did before, forgetting his victory.
As Good as it Gets. Dir. James Brooks. Perf. Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear. Gracie Films, 1997. DVD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFGb_l04Dso
The film As Good as it Gets is about a strange man, Melvin, who has multiple quirks that rule his life. He refuses to step on cracks on a sidewalk, and he brings his own silverware to restaurants because he will not use the ones they provide. He generally has no idea on how to act in normal society, and he is disliked because of his strange oddities. He was escorted out of a diner when he made a commotion about not getting his normal table, with his normal waitress serving him. However, near the end of the movie it shows how his peculiarities can help him find love, as he compliments Carol in a way that can only come from his strange life, but it means so much to her that she forgives all of his shortcomings and accepts him.
The two movies both have characters with extremely peculiar quirks. They are both disliked in the beginning of the movie because of the strange way they do things. However, the peculiarities are different. Howie from the Benchwarmers is strange because of all of his irrational fears that distance him from other people and the world, as he hides away in his closet. Melvin, from As Good as it Gets does not fear the world, he fears change in his schedule and habits. Neither of them experience the world to the fullest, and neither of them are understood in the beginning. Melvin's oddities lead to him somehow getting Carol to go on a date, which ends up with love, unlike Howie, who overcomes his fears only for them to lead to more fear. Both movies use strange quirks, but for Melvin he succeeds in getting a better life, while Howie is forever stuck in the dark closet, not truly seeing the world for what it is. Good job with the movie analysis.
Songs:
"People Are Strange"
The Doors. "People are Strange." Strange Days. Paul A. Rothchild, 1967. Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDW_yAwaHnc
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
The song, "People are Strange" discusses the issue of being an outcast in society. "People are strange when you're a stranger" illustrates that Someone deemed by society as strange is not able to interact normally with others, thus the stranger sees the everyday person as strange. It is a cycle that leads to a person being alone, because they do not know how to fit in. The line "Faces come out of the rain" seems to be talking about an imaginary friend of the person, because they have no one else to talk to. That line could also be referencing hallucinations caused by drugs, as the person tried to fill the emptiness of having no friend to talk to. "When you're strange, No one remembers your name" because no one takes the time to give the person a chance because they are too peculiar, so they do not bother remembering their name.
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond"
Pink Floyd. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." Wish You Were Here. Pink Floyd, 1975. Youtube.
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom
Blown on the steel breeze
Come on, you target for faraway laughter
Come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon
Shine on you crazy diamond
Threatened by shadows at night and exposed in the light
Shine on you crazy diamond
Well, you wore out your welcome with random precision
Rode on the steel breeze
Come on, you raver, you seer of visions
Come on, you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine
This song is talking about a "Crazy diamond," which is insinuating someone is crazy, as in eccentric, not out of their mind. This song was written about a former band member named Syd, who was not normal. All artists tend to be thought of as different, because they go about expressing themselves differently, perhaps through hair color or tattoos which generally leads to mistrust and quick judgement of the person. Syd is one of these unaccepted artists. The way the title is written is clever, notice the first letter of the main words, "Shine on you crazy Diamond" spells Syd. A peculiar instance when this song was being recorded, was Syd showing up out of the blue, after two years of never being seen. He just happened to pick the day they were recording a song about him, which was rather odd. The song lyrics are talking about how Syd started off writing the best songs for their band, and his peculiarities were making him stand out for good reasons, but then he was "Caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom" and his life was all messed up. He is the "seer of visions" which comes from the belief that he was hallucinating from drug use, so the band members no longer trust him. He went insane, and now they only have memories of the bad side of him, as towards the end of the song they start using words like "Secret," "Cried," "Threatened," "Shadows," "Night," "exposed," and "Prisoner" where at the beginning it was "Young," "shone," "laughter," "Legend" and "martyr" used to describe him. People consider artists--poets, painters, song writers, to be odd. Why is the act of creating something to fear or mistrust? Why is the "seer of visions" not accepted?
The song "People are Strange" is from the point of view of someone who is strange themselves, and an outcast. The song "Shine you Crazy Diamond" is people talking about someone else whose peculiarities got in the way of their friendship. The two songs together clearly show the different points of view, with the first one showing how the outcast feels and sees himself, caught in an endless cycle of loneliness. The second song shows how, while they were at first happy with the peculiarities leading to success, as Syd's peculiarities started causing too much trouble they wrote that he "Wore out your welcome" and that while they wanted him to shine, they were not willing to put up with his craziness.
Peculiarity:
Synonyms:
Idiosyncrasy, eccentricity, irregularity, quirk, oddityPoems:
Peculiarity from Unfamiliar Subjects Vs. Peculiarity from Unfamiliar Language
Flamingo Watching
Ryan, Kay. “Flamingo Watching.” from Flamingo Watching. Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
Wherever the flamingo goes,
she brings a city’s worth
of furbelows. She seems
unnatural by nature—
too vivid and peculiar
a structure to be pretty,
and flexible to the point
of oddity. Perched on
those legs, anything she does
seems like an act. Descending
on her egg or draping her head
along her back, she’s
too exact and sinuous
to convince an audience
she’s serious. The natural elect,
they think, would be less pink,
less able to relax their necks,
less flamboyant in general.
They privately expect that it’s some
poorly jointed bland grey animal
with mitts for hands
whom God protects.
Flamingos are a species of brightly colored uncommon birds, that used to be worshipped for they were believed to contain the essence of the god, Ra. Their strange appearance or, some would say their beauty, has led to them being used as decorative lawn ornaments. This poem talks about the way the flamingo's beauty leads to it being distanced from reality. The line "anything she does seems like an act" explains how the flamingo's exquisiteness causes an onlooker to doubt the reality and belittle the beauty they see by not truly understanding it. It is assumed that anything that is different must be artificial, because it is so odd that it seems unnatural. The general onlookers see flamingos in a zoo, as opposed to the common, drab colored sparrow seen daily in their backyard. The bright pink color goes against what is normal, so it is not understood.
Jabberwocky
Carroll, Lewis. "Jabberwocky." From The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!I
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Lewis Carroll wrote the "Jabberwocky" poem as part of the Through the Looking Glass book, which is a sequel to Alice in Wonderland. It was also meant to be included in the film version of Alice in Wonderland. When Alice falls through the looking glass into Wonderland, everything is unfamiliar to her. There is the Cheshire cat, which can disappear and speak, the Mad Hatter, and the army of playing card people. The Cheshire Cat recites the first part of Carrol's poem to Alice during one of their meetings, thoroughly confusing her. The poem tells a story of a boy defeating the Jabberwocky, though it is hard to discern through Carroll's strange neologisms. There are multiple mentions of other peculiar animals throughout the poem, "Slithy toves" and "Borogoves" and "mome raths" are all made up fantasy creatures from Wonderland that Carroll uses to set the scene for the poem. These little creatures are also strange, but they are not seen as dangerous because they do not appear dangerous, unlike the Jabberwocky. This poem was actually written as a satirical way of interpreting literary verse, and it was designed to show how not to write verse but it ended up being used in classrooms because its peculiarities were so shocking they could not be ignored. One of the most peculiar eventualities was that the poem was so influential that it added two new words to the English language, "Galumphing," and "Chortled."
Really dig into the poem. Twist and pull the poem apart and notice the oddities of the poem.
The "Flamingo Watching" Poem contrasts sharply with the "Jabberwocky" poem because flamingos are elegant, beautiful creatures that while strange are not dangerous. The Jabberwocky is a strange, unnatural creature that resembles a dragon and everyone wants to slay it. Lewis Carroll used peculiar language and made up words in his poem more often than real words, to make it stick in the reader's mind and have a greater impact, while Kay Ryan uses words that flow together in a very pretty way to fit the subject being discussed. An interesting similarity between the two animals is that they were present in the Alice in Wonderland story, which was full of everything strange and unusual after she fell through the looking glass. The flamingo was used to play croquet which was a very unusual use for such an elegant creature, once more demonstrating how no one understands or appreciates the beauty of the animal that is "too vivid and peculiar a structure to be pretty." While the Jabberwocky was not a benevolent character it was detested because of it's strange appearance and its "jaws that bite, the claws that catch!" In both poems, the subjects are disliked for their oddities, which shows how peculiarities can be unwelcome in society, even in worlds known for being strange like Wonderland.
Connect words, phrases, and ideas in the two poems.
Movie: Peculiarity leading to contempt Vs. Peculiarity leading to love
Benchwarmers. Dir. Dennis Dugan. Perf. Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovits. Revolution Studios Happy Madison, 2006. DVD.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5kCWli6x8I
The movie Benchwarmers has one very peculiar character, Howie. He has many irrational fears such as Doorphobia, and he fears going into the sun. It makes him unable to do normal things at the beginning when he refuses to leave the house, and because of this he is made fun of. He has little to no friends, except for his brother. The only time he is ever spoken to is when he is needed to do something for his brother or when the main characters are laughing at his peculiarities. However, during one scene Howie is called in to participate in a baseball game and it is all up to him to win it. When the ball comes at him he cringes away, getting hit by it in the process because his reaction was so unexpected. His peculiar response wins them the game and everybody celebrates, finally accepting him, but only because he helped them. They soon go back to treating him with the contempt they did before, forgetting his victory.
As Good as it Gets. Dir. James Brooks. Perf. Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear. Gracie Films, 1997. DVD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFGb_l04Dso
The film As Good as it Gets is about a strange man, Melvin, who has multiple quirks that rule his life. He refuses to step on cracks on a sidewalk, and he brings his own silverware to restaurants because he will not use the ones they provide. He generally has no idea on how to act in normal society, and he is disliked because of his strange oddities. He was escorted out of a diner when he made a commotion about not getting his normal table, with his normal waitress serving him. However, near the end of the movie it shows how his peculiarities can help him find love, as he compliments Carol in a way that can only come from his strange life, but it means so much to her that she forgives all of his shortcomings and accepts him.
The two movies both have characters with extremely peculiar quirks. They are both disliked in the beginning of the movie because of the strange way they do things. However, the peculiarities are different. Howie from the Benchwarmers is strange because of all of his irrational fears that distance him from other people and the world, as he hides away in his closet. Melvin, from As Good as it Gets does not fear the world, he fears change in his schedule and habits. Neither of them experience the world to the fullest, and neither of them are understood in the beginning. Melvin's oddities lead to him somehow getting Carol to go on a date, which ends up with love, unlike Howie, who overcomes his fears only for them to lead to more fear. Both movies use strange quirks, but for Melvin he succeeds in getting a better life, while Howie is forever stuck in the dark closet, not truly seeing the world for what it is.
Good job with the movie analysis.
Songs:
"People Are Strange"
The Doors. "People are Strange." Strange Days. Paul A. Rothchild, 1967. Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDW_yAwaHnc
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
The song, "People are Strange" discusses the issue of being an outcast in society. "People are strange when you're a stranger" illustrates that Someone deemed by society as strange is not able to interact normally with others, thus the stranger sees the everyday person as strange. It is a cycle that leads to a person being alone, because they do not know how to fit in. The line "Faces come out of the rain" seems to be talking about an imaginary friend of the person, because they have no one else to talk to. That line could also be referencing hallucinations caused by drugs, as the person tried to fill the emptiness of having no friend to talk to. "When you're strange, No one remembers your name" because no one takes the time to give the person a chance because they are too peculiar, so they do not bother remembering their name.
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond"
Pink Floyd. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." Wish You Were Here. Pink Floyd, 1975. Youtube.
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sunShine on you crazy diamond
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom
Blown on the steel breeze
Come on, you target for faraway laughter
Come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon
Shine on you crazy diamond
Threatened by shadows at night and exposed in the light
Shine on you crazy diamond
Well, you wore out your welcome with random precision
Rode on the steel breeze
Come on, you raver, you seer of visions
Come on, you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine
This song is talking about a "Crazy diamond," which is insinuating someone is crazy, as in eccentric, not out of their mind. This song was written about a former band member named Syd, who was not normal. All artists tend to be thought of as different, because they go about expressing themselves differently, perhaps through hair color or tattoos which generally leads to mistrust and quick judgement of the person. Syd is one of these unaccepted artists. The way the title is written is clever, notice the first letter of the main words, "Shine on you crazy Diamond" spells Syd. A peculiar instance when this song was being recorded, was Syd showing up out of the blue, after two years of never being seen. He just happened to pick the day they were recording a song about him, which was rather odd. The song lyrics are talking about how Syd started off writing the best songs for their band, and his peculiarities were making him stand out for good reasons, but then he was "Caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom" and his life was all messed up. He is the "seer of visions" which comes from the belief that he was hallucinating from drug use, so the band members no longer trust him. He went insane, and now they only have memories of the bad side of him, as towards the end of the song they start using words like "Secret," "Cried," "Threatened," "Shadows," "Night," "exposed," and "Prisoner" where at the beginning it was "Young," "shone," "laughter," "Legend" and "martyr" used to describe him.
People consider artists--poets, painters, song writers, to be odd. Why is the act of creating something to fear or mistrust? Why is the "seer of visions" not accepted?
The song "People are Strange" is from the point of view of someone who is strange themselves, and an outcast. The song "Shine you Crazy Diamond" is people talking about someone else whose peculiarities got in the way of their friendship. The two songs together clearly show the different points of view, with the first one showing how the outcast feels and sees himself, caught in an endless cycle of loneliness. The second song shows how, while they were at first happy with the peculiarities leading to success, as Syd's peculiarities started causing too much trouble they wrote that he "Wore out your welcome" and that while they wanted him to shine, they were not willing to put up with his craziness.